Home to an ECO newbie

Main menu

‘Old’ seems a long way from now

A message to the ‘youngs’

If you‘re an under-25 year-old reading this blog, then ‘old’ will seem a long way from now. Time, however, has a way of taking you by surprise and age creeps up, robbing you of “what I want to do’s” and the “if only I had started then” regrets. There are some things I wish I’d known and heeded early in life.

When our 14 year old daughter was earning extra cash working in a rest home she once told us that she never wanted to be ‘old’; instead she planned to kill herself before she got there. It could have been laughable except at that stage in her youthfulness she thought ‘old’ was anything over 30. And even though she feared getting ‘old’ she continued to behave in ways that harmed her body. Now as a happily married mother of two, she’s much more protective of her body and values things like good nutrition and even ‘old’ people like us!

Start good habits now

There are several ways you can avoid looking old and they have nothing to do with the expensive options being offered in a jar to panicking Baby Boomers (that’s basically anyone who’s retired). Most of the methods of holding onto your youthful looks start now – aged under-20. Here a few things I wish I’d learned early and followed.

The underlying premise to ‘youth’ is that staying young is to do with:

What you put into your body

What you put onto your body

Your state of mind

What you put into your body

Your diet

What you eat affects your body, bones and skin, all of which affects the length of time you continue to look youthful. A ‘good diet’ is not about an eating regime that restricts your food intake in order to make you lose weight. Fad diets to make you fit into a Prom dress can deplete your body of good nutrition. Fad or bad diets can put stress on internal organs and lead to diseases of aging, like diabetes. If you follow a ‘good diet’ you will limit your intake of bad fats and high sugar foods (including most orange juices) and increase your intake of raw food and grains.

If you think you’ve got years ahead of you in which to change your habits – think again. The longer you stay in a bad habit of eating the harder it is to break and the more damage it stores up for when you’re ‘old’.

Here are some websites that give you real advice about eating regimes:

Drinking

Not sure what it’s like where you live, but there’s a lot of pressure around here on young people to drink themselves silly when they’re out on the town. The belief is that you’re not having a good time unless you get drunk. Trouble with that theory is you’re unlikely to remember anything about the time you had out unless you’re the sober driver. And the sober driver’s memory will be of helping their drunken mates into the car to take them home.

Absolute facts about drinking:

If you get drunk and drive you’re highly likely to have an accident and maim yourself and others – suffering pain makes you look older.

If you get drunk and take sexual risks, you’re highly likely to catch a sexually transmitted disease or, if you’re a girl, get pregnant. Children will put creases your face, mark my words.

But then you know all that don’t you? The sensible ones among you already avoid excessive drinking. You’re the ones who won’t be affected by the loss of a youthful face.

What you put on your body

Shoes

Glamour is where girls approaching adulthood what to aim. That means wearing high heels that lengthen the look of your legs and make you appear taller in proportion to your body weight.

But take a look at this video created last year to show how wearing high heeled shoes long term can deform our feet:

Make-up

No matter what the great icons of the make-up industry tell you, long term your skin does not benefit from make-up. Anything smeared on your face that blocks your pores from breathing, sweating and healing, cannot be good for you. You may start looking older than you actually are. That might seem like the aim of the game when you’re under 25; but when you’re over-35 the reverse is what you want. Okay, you could be like our ex-14 year-old whose cure for age was suicide, but I can assure you that when you reach 30 or 35 life is so full it’s worth living.

All makeup and moisturizers actually do some damage to your skin and with prolonged use wrinkles and other signs of ageing may be visible. Try the healthy glow of clean skin or at the most, use natural vegetable oils to protect your skin from the harsh elements of weather. To protect yourself from sun damage: You can make your own sunscreens without harsh chemicals. And cover-up with light cotton clothes, sunhat and sunglasses.

Take a look at this webpage to find out more about the effects of wearing make-up: List Crux

Your state of mind

Your state of mind is affected by many things; some of which you will not be able to control. Nowadays there are many courses, books and websites that support people to look at the positive in life. That might be hard to achieve, especially if you’re still affected by the hormones of puberty. However, making a habit of looking on the positive does change your state of mind, and is at the bottom of many therapies aimed at promoting mental health. A face that relaxes into a smile is far prettier and youthful than one that relaxes into a scowl. Our faces betray what’s going on inside. Positive thoughts, an enjoyment of life, and eagerness to learn radiate health.

If you’re feeling depressed about what’s happening in your life, take action now. Schools and other organisations exist to support people going through difficult times. Contacting them does NOT mean you’ve failed; quite the opposite. Getting help shows you have a level of maturity that will serve you well in adulthood.

Conclusion

The habits of life you start now can be carried into a healthy lifestyle for any age. You just have to distrust the promises of youthfulness attached to any product. Do your own research, but make sure what you’re reading about is written by someone without a financial benefit in convincing you to buy.

And in case you’re still afraid of growing old, let me assure you sweet young people, ‘old’ is always at least 20 years older than whatever you are currently. So maybe 30 could be ‘old’?